Modern Manor opened their store in Phoenix’s Melrose District in April of 2010 in an effort to provide the greater Phoenix community with affordable, yet high quality vintage furniture. When you walk into Modern Manor’s open, warehouse style space, it’s easy to see where their aesthetic lies. They specialize in midcentury modern, contemporary and industrial furniture but don’t shy away from selling anything they feel is cool.

Who are the owners?

Photographed above is Ryan Durkin. Ryan and Kylie Durkin are a husband and wife duo who own Modern Manor and simply love design. When I asked Ryan what he liked about his job, his answer was – everything! Design is part of their daily lives: whether it was designing the space itself or hand selecting each piece of furniture in their shop. They stand by the products they sell and at the end of the day they have fun doing so. Ryan tells me how he enjoys that they have become part of the local Phoenix neighborhood and appreciates the connections they have built with their customers.

How did it start?

Modern Manor started with Ryan and Kylie wanting to decorate their condo. After searching for one of-a-kind-pieces for their home they fell in love with collecting furniture. The collecting continued after the completion of their home and they began to sell the items they didn’t have room for on Craigslist. After craigslist came Ebay, and after Ebay, came selling at a local antique mall called The Antique Trove. They were extremely successful there and after their business partner at the time encouraged them, they decided to open their own shop in 2010.

The name Modern Manor came from wanting to develop a brand that will age well. Modern is now. Ryan understands that while he feels midcentury furniture will always be popular in one way or another, it may not be their focus forever. Having the word modern in their name allows their business to grow and change as their style evolves. The word manor came from a side business Kylie had started before the days of Modern Manor called Mistle Toe Manor. The business was an online retail shop hosted on Etsy where she sold vintage Christmas goods. The words collided and Modern Manor was born.

They search for merchandise everywhere. Ryan and Kylie visit estate sales, auctions, craigslist, and at times will even meet with a customer who wants to sell something unique. While in the past Ryan admits always having a solid inventory and a well staged shop could be a challenge, they now have reached a place where expansion is the best possible option for their business. After the space directly next to Modern Manor closed it’s doors last month they felt it was the perfect time to expand. The space next door was owned by Doug and Heidi Abrahamson who had operated their very own midcentury furniture shop called Metro Retro since 2009. As I walked through Modern Manor I peaked in and could see the almost complete renovation, which is open for business now.Their once 4,200 square foot space will now be over 6,000 square feet.

Why we love it!

Not only is their style impeccable, but Modern Manor is also eco-friendly because they keep perfectly good furniture out of the landfill and encourage reuse. So many of us take these items to the dump rather than taking the time to donate or re-purpose them. According to the EPA, after recycling and composting, Americans discarded 164 million tons of waste in 2011. Over 50 percent of this waste was glass, plastic, textile and wood; the primary materials used in furniture. [Source: Environmental Protection Agency]

Vintage furniture shops like Modern Manor give us the option to support our local community, and to reuse rather than purchasing something new.

What sets Modern Manor aside from the other shops on the Melrose Curve is the quality of their vintage goods. While these items may come at a higher cost, we stand by their hand-selected pieces for the home. When you shop with Modern Manor you are paying for time taken to find these unique pieces, their eye for style, minor repairs in addition to the fundamental quality of their merchandise.

Modern Manor is located right off of 7th Avenue at 716 W. Hazelwood St. right in the heart of The Melrose District. While on their website it says they are only open Thursday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm, they are open on Wednesdays in addition to these hours.

What else is in the neighborhood?

The Melrose District stretches from Campbell & Indian School along 7th Avenue and specializes in all things antique and vintage. I have purchased some of my favorite vintage garments, eclectic furniture pieces and collectables for my home in The Melrose District.

While you’re in the Melrose swing by Lux Central for an excellent handcrafted cup of coffee, visit Postino for delicious bruschetta and a quality glass of wine, or Pane Bianco for their well known and loved sandwiches and pizza.

With their location, merchandise, and community of loyal customers Modern Manor has created a place we want to be apart of. Knowing that each of the pieces in their shop have been hand selected by the owners themselves creates such personal and unique exchange. On top of all of this it’s an eco-friendly choice. Which, we are all about at Firefly Living. Stop on by and visit this wonderful shop. And stay tuned, with the new expansion underway they are planning a re-grand opening party sometime within the next couple months!

Sneak Peak:

Did you know artist Brandon Gore is opening up a pop-up location of his store, Hard Goods at Modern Manor? We’ll be featuring an interview with Brandon Gore on our blog soon, so stay tuned!